Log in or become a subscriber

An employer has a "sufficiently strong" case against a former manager who it claimed breached his employment contract by using its confidential information to solicit clients away to a competitor, the Federal Court has ruled.

Justice Michael Feutrill acknowledged the manager for recruitment company Techforce Personnel had claimed his contract's restraint of trade clause wasn't enforceable because its clients had contacted him, in which case "that's a free market".

But the Justice said it was "reasonably arguable that the concept of 'solicitation' is wider than initiating contact and includes conveying a willingness to deal and encouraging clients to do so"...